Dez Bryant's Unbridled Passion Leads to Dumb Decisions

Quite the week for Dez Bryant. First, he punked. Then he dunked.

Neither of which were smart moves by one of the Cowboys’ leaders.

The star receiver was unable to finish Thursday’s training camp practice in Oxnard after suffering a left hamstring strain. The Cowboys are off Friday and Bryant told his followers on Twitter that he was "OK" and not to "worry."

But when your $70 million weapon limps off the field, yeah, you worry.

"Someone like Dez, of course there’s worry," vice president Stephen Jones said. "But we think he is going to be fine."

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Dez simply has to be smarter. His passion can be an asset, but only if properly channeled. If it merely leads to emotional, irrational decisions, that spells trouble.

Over the weekend he initiated a fight with cornerback Tyler Patmon. And after making a catch near the goal line from Tony Romo, he jumped up and dunked the football over the goal-post crossbar. On the next play, he grabbed at the back of his left leg and sat out the remainder of practice.

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Since he missed all of the team’s off-season work, the Cowboys have been careful with Bryant. He was held out of one-on-one drills on the first day of practice. Obviously, in early August, the logical course of action is to be better safe than sorry.

And the long-term solution to keeping Bryant healthy? Better decision-making.

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.

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